Thursday, December 7, 2017

On this snowy Thursday, here's our weekend concert previews, as slight as they are this time around, but things will pick up as we approach the Christmas season! Today, we have some assorted recent news and notes, big updates regarding an upcoming holiday show, but we'll start with previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Sportsman's Lounge at Dondee Lanes for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via it's official Facebook event pages (linked here & here) on Monday and yesterday. Over two weeks removed from their last Dondee show just prior to Thanksgiving, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will bring Banned back to the local bowling alley for a more typical scheduled weekend of shows, and with lots of hard rocking and more general covers in their repertoire, they should provide a good time once again this weekend! As of right now, these are Banned's last publically scheduled gigs of 2017, but I'd be surprised if we don't see them again before the year's out. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts have early 8:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Banned live!

Next up, here's this weekend's only other announced hard rock concerts in our area, as Sault Ontario acoustic hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will continue his long-term run at Gliss Steak & Seafood with matinee concerts TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! As Tym enters the holiday season, his ongoing arrangement with The Quality Inn's house restaurant continues to provide hard rocking songs in an unplugged setting for fans and patrons alike, and this weekend's shows should be no different, so consider an early evening of familiar rocking hits over these next three days! As usual for Tym's lengthy run of Gliss gigs, expect 6:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and no age limits this weekend, but again, these is a formal sit-down restaurant, not a typical nightclub. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

Also today, here's the latest from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night's now-commenced Christmas tour, specifically the tour's local stop at The Soo Theatre on December 16th (one week from Saturday!) First, an opening band has been confirmed for it, which they credit on their Facebook page as "The Soo Theatre Cello Group." As best as I can tell, they mean The Soo Cello Crew, a chamber-style youth group formed via a class at the theatre (source here), and they should fit the with the classical influenced headliners! As per it's official poster, this show will also feature a meet & greet session with the band post-concert, and some proceeds will now benefit the recovery fund following the venue's fire that took place back in October. Ticket prices have also raised from initial announcements, with adults now being $15, students $10, and Soo Theatre Arts Resource Studios (STARS) members getting in for $5. Interestingly, singer Rachel Mender is listed alongside Craig & Steve as band members on the poster, so is she the only one of their recent live additions to become a permanent studio member too? We'll keep you posted!

Things sound like they're shaping up nicely for Theatre of Night's local stops (including in Pickford next Sunday), and hopefully this tour is a big success so that we see Theatre of Night live again in some form, Christmas season ties or not! Stay tuned for info on their newest video shares in an upcoming post!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

According to personal Facebook postings last month, Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton filled in for his old Haggith bandmate James White on bass during Handsome Sandwich's set at the Dany Laj & The Looks concert at The Rockstar Bar in Sault Ontario on November 18th. No word on where James was, but hopefully nothing too serious happened, and that Daniel fit in well with his Jack Spades predecessors at last month's show!

Munising, Michigan metal quartet Infathom (featuring former Sault area resident Dillion Semasky) have surprisingly been named as openers for the Theory of a Deadman concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Soo's Kewadin Casino on December 30th! The band broke the news on their Facebook page on Monday, and will be playing their first public set in the E.U.P. since rocking Pickles in Brimley last March. Huge opportunity for Infathom, so don't miss them at month's end if you have your tickets, because this show is advertised as being SOLD OUT!

3 Day Millionaires drummer Scott McLurg filled in with fellow local classic/hard rock quartet Soundcheck for their show at The Esquire Club on Friday, November 17th, as per the band's Facebook page! No word on where Steven Flint was, but he wasn't advertised as missing the follow-up show on the 18th. This notably meant that Scott and ex-Millionaires bandmate Travis Sharpe were reunited for this concert, and hopefully he fit in nicely with Soundcheck last month!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days on the SMS! Thanks everyone!